Army Combat Fitness Test Timeline
Note: This timeline is a work in progress and takes into account all the open source material that is currently available on the Army.mil website and my understanding of how these fitness test changes work
ACRT Timeline Reference:
This time line is based on open source articles and primarly the timeline published on the Army ACRT site at army.mil
BLUF:
Below is the 15 year time line and evolution of the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) replacment program
No Later Than October 2020
According to Lt. Col. Feltwell, Once the army completes the initial operational capability the Army Combat Readiness Test could be fully implemented and the official Army Physical test of record.
Winter 2019
FM 7-22 will be updated with the new ACFT and the training plans for prepairing for the test.
October 2019
Initial implementation: the entire Army will take two not-for-record ACFTs six months apart.
October 2019- Finalization
Once the field test is complete the ACFT standards are expected to be finalized.
=========FUTURE EVENTS ===============
October 2018 – October 2019 – Pilot Program
The Army will run a second pilot program to refine the test and testing standards across 60 battalions. This will be a year long field test to refine the testing process and verify the standards. These ACFTs will be not-for-record tests.
August 2018 – ACFT Field Manual Released
In August of 2018 the Army’s center for Initial Military Training released the Army Combat Fitness Testing field manual.
This manual contains the testing site requirements, gear requirements, and testing procedures to include uniforms and personnel. In additional the official scoring standards and score card was published.
In addition a e-mail address was set up at usarmy.jble.tradoc.list.g2-acft(-at-)mail.mil for comments or recommendations.
July 2018 – Document leak
A document containing the proposed ACRT Fitness Standards was leaked and posted on ArmyTimes.com This document was later officially published in August of 2018 and contains the ACRT grading standards, score card, uniform standards and testing standards
August 2017 – Initial pilot program
The First Pilot Program at Joint BaseLewis-McCord Washington where National Guard and 75 Ranger Regiment troops attempted the test
2017- The Army is now moving forward.
Nearly eleven years after their first announcement the Army made a second announcement and decided that they are in fact moving forward with a “combat” focused physical fitness test.
2006
In 2006, nearly 10 years ago, the army first announcement that the desire to moving from their APFT to a functional Combat Fitness Test.
